Cattle restraining stanchion

ABSTRACT

An animal catching gate including an upstanding frame having opposite sides and from which a pair of upstanding stanchion bars are supported for movement toward and away from each other along paths generally paralleling the medial plane of the frame. The lower ends of the stanchion bars are oscillatably supported from the frame for guided movement toward and away from each other and also for oscillation relative to each other and the frame about axes disposed generally normal to the frame. Actuating structure is also supported from the frame and operatively connected to the stanchion bars for shifting the stanchion bars toward and away from each other, the actuating structure, when actuated to open the catch gate, being operable to slid the lower ends of the stanchion bars apart while at the same time swinging the upper ends of the stanchion bars away from each other. Also, one side of the frame of the catch gate includes a stop gate panel member oscillatably supported therefrom for angular displacement about an axis disposed generally normal to the frame between a retracted depending position disposed at one side of the frame and a raised operative position extending between the stanchion bars when the latter are open.

United States Patent McDonough [4 1March 13, 1973 CATTLE RESTRAININGSTANCHION frame having opposite sides and from which a pair of [76]Inventor: William Mcnmmugh BOX 336 upstanding stanchion bars aresupported for move- Gunnison Colo 81230 ment toward and away from eachother along paths generally paralleling the medial plane of the frame.

[22] Filed: Feb. 8, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 113,556

Primary Examiner-Hugh R. Chamblee Attorney-Clarence A. OBrien and HarveyB. Jacobson [5 7] ABSTRACT An animal catching gate including anupstanding The lower ends of the stanchion bars are oscillatablysupported from the frame for guided movement toward and away from eachother and also for oscillation relative to each other and the frameabout axes disposed generally normal to the frame. Actuating structureis also supported from the frame and operatively connected to thestanchion bars for shifting the stanchion bars toward and away from eachother, the actuating structure, when actuated to open the catch gate,being operable to slid the lower ends of the stanchion bars apart whileat the same time swinging the upper ends of the stanchion bars away fromeach other. Also, one side of the frame of the catch gate includes astop gate panel member oscillatably supported therefrom for angulardisplacement about an axis disposed generally normal to the framebetween a retracted depending position disposed at one side of the frameand a raised operative position extending between the stanchion barswhen the latter are open.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHAR 1 3197s saw 10F 2 Mil/27m P.McDonaugh IX VENTOR 1 M flzmmfi'n My 5 Allornry PATENTFDHARmma 3,720,187

SHEETEUFZ William F Mafia/laugh IN VENTOR.

CATTLE RESTRAINING STANCIIION The cattle restraining stanchion of theinstant invention has been specifically designed for use either on acomplete cattle chute or in a squeezing alley. The stanchion is providedwith a single actuating lever and it opens toward both sides at its topand bottom merely by actuation of the single actuating lever. Further,the actuating lever of the stanchion is disposed in an out of the wayposition when the stanchion is closed and means is provided whereby thestanchion bars may be secured in adjusted closed position.

The stanchion further includes a stop gate operable independently of thestanchion bars. The stop gate may be swung to the closed positionextending between the stanchion bars slightly below the level thereofbetween which the neck of an animal is to be received and the gate willprevent an animal from charging through the stanchion before thestanchion bars can be closed. After the animal has been stopped at thestanchion by the stop gate with the neck of the animal disposed over thegate, the stanchion bars may be closed to grip the opposite sides of theneck of the animal and the stop gate may be dropped so as not to chokethe animal while its neck is held between the stanchion bars.Accordingly, the stop gate is utilized to more rapidly position ananimal relative to the stanchion for gripping the animals neck betweenthe stanchion bars and is dropped to an out of the way position as thestanchion bars are moved to the closed positions thereof whereby it ismerely necessary to release the stanchion bars whenever it is desired torelease the animal, the stop gate having been previously dropped.

The main object of this invention is to provide an improved stanchionfor use in controlling the movement of livestock and retaining livestockstationary for matters such as inspection, surgery, grooming and thelike.

Another object of this invention is to provide a stanchion equipped withan independently operable gate whereby an animal may not bolt throughthe stanchion when the stanchion barsthereof are in the open positions.

Astill furtherobject of this invention is to provide a stanchion thatmay be used either on a complete cattle chute or separately in asqueezing alley.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a stanchionthat may be actuated by the manipulation of a single band lever. I

, A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated hereinis to provide a stanchion which will conform to conventional forms ofmanufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to providea device that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relativelytrouble free in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the with the stanchion bars in theiropen positions and the stop gate in its closed position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of FIG.2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the latchmechanism by which the stanchion bars may be retained in selectivelyclosed positions.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10generally refers to the stanchion or animal catch gate of the instantinvention. The stanchion 10 includes a support frame referred to ingeneral by the reference numeral 12 and the frame 12 may be seen toinclude a pair of upstanding opposite side members 14 and 16interconnected at their upper ends by means of an upper transversemember 18 and at their lower ends by means of a pair of slightlyvertically spaced lower transverse members 20 and 22.

A pair of stanchion bars 24 and 26 are provided and the bars 24 and 26include oppositely bowed intermediate portions 24' and 26' generallycentrally intermediate their upper and lower ends.

The lower ends of the bars 24 and 26 are bifurcated and each lower barend includes a pair of furcations 28 and 30 between which a roller 32 isjoumalled. The rollers are rollingly disposed on the lower transversemember 20 and the furcations 28 include lateral extensions 34 receivedbetween the lower transverse members 20 and 22. In this manner, thelower ends of the bars 24 and 26 are not only slidably supported fromthe lower transverse member 20 for guided movement therealong but arealso supported for oscillation about the axes of rotation or the rollers32.

As viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the right hand end of theupper transverse member 18 includes a bifurcated extension 18' betweenwhose furcations a first connecting lever 34 is oscillatably supportedby means of a pivot fastener 36. The lever 34 is supported between thefurcations of the extension 18' intermediate its opposite ends and oneend of the connecting lever 34 has one end of a connecting link 38pivotallysecured thereto as at 40, the other end of the connecting linkbeing pivotally secured to the upper end portion of the stanchion bar26by means of a pivot fastener 42. The end of the connecting lever 34remote from the connectinglink 38 is pivotally connected, as at 44, toone end of a second connecting lever 46 and the other end oftheconnecting lever was pivotally secured to the upper end of the stanchionbar-24 as at 48. Further, an expansion spring 50 is connected betweenthe upper transverse member 18 and the first connecting lever 34 andyieldingly biases the connecting lever 34 in a clockwise direction asviewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings to thereby urge the stanchionbars 24 and 26 toward their open positions illustrated in FIG. 2 fromthe closed positions thereof illustrated in FIG. 1.

Thestanchion bars 24 and 26 include wingplates 24" and 26",respectively, as well as a pair of oppositely outwardly directedoperating arms 24' and 26".

, A pair of operating links 54 and 56 have one pair of correspondingends thereof pivotally supported from the opposite ends of the lowertransverse member 20 as at 58 and 60 and the operating links includelaterally projecting stub arms 54' and 56' projecting toward each otherand supported therefrom intermediate their upper and lower ends. Also, apair of connecting links 54" and 56" have one pair of corresponding endsthereof pivotally secured to the adjacent ends of the stub arms 54' and56' as at 64 and 66 and the other pair of corresponding lower endsthereof pivotally secured to the stanchion arms 24 and 26 as at 68 and70.

An operating lever 72 has its lower end pivotally secured to the outerend of a laterally outwardly projecting stub arm 74 supported from thelower end of the side member 16 as at 76 and a connecting link 78 hasone end thereof pivotally secured to the operating lever 72 as at 80 andthe other end thereof pivotally secured to the operating link 56 as at82.

The wing plate 26" has a latch pawl flange 86 supported therefrom and alatch bar 88 has one end thereof pivotally supported from the operatinglever 72 as at 90. The latch bar 88 includes longitudinally spaced teeth92 engageable with the latch pawl flange 86 and accordingly, the latchbar 88 may be lowered into engagement with the latch pawl flange 86 into retain the stanchion bars 24 and 26 in a predetermined closedposition against movement away from each other.

A stop gate 96 is pivotally supported from the right hand inclined brace106 of the frame 12, see FIG. 1, and includes an operating handle 100.The free swinging end of the gate 96 includes a keeper extension 102 anda spring urged latch 104 is pivotally supported from the left handinclined brace 106 of the frame 12 as at 108 and engageable with thekeeper extension 102 when the gate 96 is swung to the horizontal closedposition thereof illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings. Also, the wingplate 24' includes an abutment 110 engageable with the upper end ofthelatch 104 when the stanchion bars 24 and 26 are shifted to theirclosed positions illustrated in FIG. 1 in order to release the gate 96for gravity swinging from the closed position thereof illustrated inFIG. 2 to the open position thereof illustrated in FIG. 1 as thestanchion bars 24 and 26 are closed.

An expansion spring 111 is connected between the lock or locking bar 88and the operating lever 72 so as to yieldingly bias the lock bar 88 intoposition with its teeth 92 engaged with the flange 86. One end of anelongated flexible tension member 112 is anchored to the free end of thelocking bar 88 and is passed over a pulley 114 carried by the upper endportion of the stanchion bar 26. The other end portion of the tensionmember 112 is directed downwardly along the right hand side of thestanchion 10 as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. A secondelongated flexible tension member 116 is provided and has one endthereof anchored to the free end of the operating lever 72 as at 118 andthe'other end of the tension member 118 passes overa pulley 120supported from the center of the upper transverse member 18. Theterminal end of the tension-member 116 remote from the pulley 118 isalso retained at the right hand side of the stanchion 10.

In operation, when it is desired to retain an animal in the stanchion10, the actuating or lever arm 100 of the gate 96 is urged downwardly atits free ends to swing the gate 96 to its raised horizontal positionillustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings with the extension 102 engaged bythelatch 104. Then, as the animal is advanced toward the stanchion 10and its head passes over the upper marginal edge portion of the gate 96,the operating lever 72 is pushed upward from the position thereofillustrated in FIG. 2 to the position thereof illustrated in FIG. 1 orthe end of the tension member 116 remote from the point 118 is pulled toaffect the same upward swinging of the operating lever 72. Upwardswinging of the free end of the operating lever 72 will of course causethe upper ends of the stanchion bars 24 and 26 to swing toward eachother and the lower ends of the stanchion bars 24 and 26 to slidetogether along the transverse member 20. As the stanchion bars 24 and 26are shifted to their fully closed positions illustrated in FIG. 1 of thedrawings, the abutment 110 is operable to engage the latch 104 and topivot the latter to its inoperative position thereby releasing the gate96 for pivoting by gravity from the operative position thereofillustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawings to the inoperative positionillustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

After the animal has been retained for the desired period of time, thefree end of the tension member 112 may be pulled so as to raise thelocking bar 88 and release the stanchion bars 24 and 26 for swingingfrom the closed positions thereof illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawingsto the open positions thereof illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawingsunder the biasing action of the expansion spring 50. Of course, afterthe animal has been released, the free end portion of the operating armor lever of the gate 96 is again swung downwardly to return the gate 96to the closed position thereof illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawingspreparatory to the next animal passing his head over the upper marginaledge portion of the gate 96.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An animal stanchion including an upright support having opposite sidemembers and a lower transverse marginal portion, said support defining apassageway said bars about horizontal axes disposed generally normal tothe planes in which the bars are shiftable and shiftable with the barsfor swinging movement of the upper ends of said bars toward and awayfrom each other, and operating means operatively connected between saidsupport and said bars for alternately simultaneously sliding the lowerends of said bars apart and angularly displacing said bars about saidaxes in opposite directions to swing the upper ends of the bars awayfrom each other and sliding the lower ends of the bars toward each otherand angularly displacing said bars about said axes to swing the upperends of the bars toward each other, said stanchion including a stop gatepivotally supported from one of said side members for movement betweenan upstanding retracted position bers including latch means operable toreleaseably retain said stop gate in said horizontal position, theupstanding stanchion bar adjacent said other side member including latchactuating means operable to release said latch means upon movement ofsaid stanchion bars toward each other for allowing said stop gate tofall by gravity to its upstanding inoperative position disposed alongsaid one side of said support.

2. An animal stanchion including an upright support having opposite sidemembers and a lower transverse marginal portion, said support defining apassageway extending therethrough between said opposite side members andabove said lower transverse marginal portion, a pair of side by sideupstanding stanchion bars, means supporting said bars from said supportfor movement toward and away from each other, a stop gate pivotallysupported from one of said side members for swinging movement between adepending position disposed along said one side member and a horizontalposition spanning the spacing between said bars and disposed at anelevation above said lower transverse marginal portion and below theupper ends of said bars, latch means operable to releaseably retain saidstop gate in said horizontal position, one of said bars including latchactuating means engageable with said latch means upon movement of saidbars toward each other for releasing said latch means and allowing saidstop gate to pivot by gravity to its inoperative upstanding positiondisposed alongside said bar.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said bars, intermediate theirupper and lower ends, include laterally displaced portions definingrecesses opening toward each other.

4. The combination of claim 1 including means operative to yieldinglybias said stanchion bars away from each other.

5. The combination of claim 4 including releaseable means operative toretain said stanchion bars in selected spaced apart positions againstfurther displacement away from each other.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means supporting the lowerends of said bars for shifting along said lower marginal portion andoscillation about said horizontal axes comprise rollers carried by thelower ends of said bars rollingly engaged with said lower transversemarginal portion.

7. The combination of claim 6 including means operative to yieldinglybias said stanchion bars away from each other.

8. The combination of claim 7 including releaseable means operative toretain said stanchion bars in selected spaced apart positions againstfurther displacement away from each other.

1. An animal stanchion including an upright support having opposite sidemembers and a lower transverse marginal portion, said support defining apassageway extending therethrough between said opposite side members, apair of side by side upstanding stanchion bars, means supporting thelower ends of said bars from said marginal portion for guided shiftingtherealong toward and away from each other and oscillation of said barsabout horizontal axes disposed generally normal to the planes in whichthe bars are shiftable and shiftable with the bars for swinging movementof the upper ends of said bars toward and away from each other, andoperating means operatively connected between said support and said barsfor alternately simultaneously sliding the lower ends of said bars apartand angularly displacing said bars about said axes in oppositedirections to swing the upper ends of the bars away from each other andsliding the lower ends of the bars toward each other and angularlydisplacing said bars about said axes to swing the upper ends of the barstoward each other, said stanchion including a stop gate pivotallysupported from one of said side members for movement between anupstanding retracted position disposed along said one side member and ahorizontal position spanning the distance between said bars when thelatter are shifted apart, the other of said side members including latchmeans operable to releaseably retain said stop gate in said horizontalposition, the upstanding stanchion bar adjacent said other side memberincluding latch actuating means operable to release said latch meansupon movement of said stanchion bars toward each other for allowing saidstop gate to fall by gravity to its upstanding inoperative positiondisposed along said one side of said support.
 1. An animal stanchionincluding an upright support having opposite side members and a lowertransverse marginal portion, said support defining a passagewayextending therethrough between said opposite side members, a pair ofside by side upstanding stanchion bars, means supporting the lower endsof said bars from said marginal portion for guided shifting therealongtoward and away from each other and oscillation of said bars abouthorizontal axes disposed generally normal to the planes in which thebars are shiftable and shiftable with the bars for swinging movement ofthe upper ends of said bars toward and away from each other, andoperating means operatively connected between said support and said barsfor alternately simultaneously sliding the lower ends of said bars apartand angularly displacing said bars about said axes in oppositedirections to swing the upper ends of the bars away from each other andsliding the lower ends of the bars toward each other and angularlydisplacing said bars about said axes to swing the upper ends of the barstoward each other, said stanchion including a stop gate pivotallysupported from one of said side members for movement between anupstanding retracted position disposed along said one side member and ahorizontal position spanning the distance between said bars when thelatter are shifted apart, the other of said side members including latchmeans operable to releaseably retain said stop gate in said horizontalposition, the upstanding stanchion bar adjacent said other side memberincluding latch actuating means operable to release said latch meansupon movement of said stanchion bars toward each other for allowing saidstop gate to fall by gravity to its upstanding inoperative positiondisposed along said one side of said support.
 2. An animal stanchionincluding an upright support having opposite side members and a lowertransverse marginal portion, said support defining a passagewayextending therethrough between said opposite side members and above saidlower transvErse marginal portion, a pair of side by side upstandingstanchion bars, means supporting said bars from said support formovement toward and away from each other, a stop gate pivotallysupported from one of said side members for swinging movement between adepending position disposed along said one side member and a horizontalposition spanning the spacing between said bars and disposed at anelevation above said lower transverse marginal portion and below theupper ends of said bars, latch means operable to releaseably retain saidstop gate in said horizontal position, one of said bars including latchactuating means engageable with said latch means upon movement of saidbars toward each other for releasing said latch means and allowing saidstop gate to pivot by gravity to its inoperative upstanding positiondisposed alongside said bar.
 3. The combination of claim 1 wherein saidbars, intermediate their upper and lower ends, include laterallydisplaced portions defining recesses opening toward each other.
 4. Thecombination of claim 1 including means operative to yieldingly bias saidstanchion bars away from each other.
 5. The combination of claim 4including releaseable means operative to retain said stanchion bars inselected spaced apart positions against further displacement away fromeach other.
 6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means supportingthe lower ends of said bars for shifting along said lower marginalportion and oscillation about said horizontal axes comprise rollerscarried by the lower ends of said bars rollingly engaged with said lowertransverse marginal portion.
 7. The combination of claim 6 includingmeans operative to yieldingly bias said stanchion bars away from eachother.